Isn’t
it time there was a fairy tale aimed at girls and women who wear hiking boots,
don’t comb their hair, and love pick-up trucks? The prince in this story wants
to marry a real mountain princess, so he searches all the mountain ranges in
the world… looking in the Sierras for women in tiaras, and at Glass Mountain
for ladies wearing just one shoe. He ends up going home alone, only to be
found by a princess who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to set out into
the world on her own to find it. The Princess and the Pick-up Truck is a
modern retelling of The Princess and the Pea, but with an Appalachian, or at
least rural, slant. Bil's inspiration: We all
know what happens when a princess kisses a frog, but what happens when a prince
kisses a fraud?

I was
driving a winding West Virginia road with my teenage daughter, and in front of
us was a pickup truck with several mattresses heaped haphazardly in the bed. I
said to my daughter, “Do you think you could sleep on that? ”My
daughter has mastered teen sarcasm, but she’s not nasty about it. She is one of
the absolute funniest people I know. She twisted her bangs in her fingers,
smacked her imaginary gum, and said saccharinely, “Of course I could, Daddy. I’m
a princess!” And this story was born.

"The Princess and the Pickup Truck...is perfect for princesses who prefer hiking

boots." -LA Parenting Magazine

2019 NAPPA Award Winner

From The National Assoc. of Parenting Publications

Rough and Tumble Royalty

“There are many quirky versions of The Princess and the Pea, but this one felt like it owned its spot on the shelf. There is a solid southern “voice” to the telling of the tale and it probably comes directly from the writer who is a storyteller. We can imagine some teachers, librarians, parents reading this book... The illustrations are appropriately homespun, quirky-isn folk art and a fine match for the story.”

Review:

I had to read this one. The title caught my eye, it's a parody tale that compares to the Princess and the Pea but this story has more comedy in it. I love it, it's cute and it's much more interesting...

The author and West Virginia Book Company sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you). It has been published, so you can grab a copy now.

He's a prince looking for a mountain princess to marry. He bought himself a pickup truck so they would notice him. And he searches everywhere for his mate. He thinks all the ladies who tell them she's a princess probably aren't. They don't appeal to him either. So he goes home and tells his mom he was unsuccessful.

One night someone knocked on the door and he opens to find three princesses standing there. He's ecstatic until he realizes it's Halloween...

The next princess to show up doesn't look like one. She doesn't really act like one either. But his mom has an idea on how to test her. What an idea it is!

This was a lot of fun to read and I enjoyed the tale. Your young ones should, too, and there are parts that make you laugh as well. Read it, you'll enjoy it. - Jo Ann Hakola- The Book Faerie http://bkfaerie.blogspot.com

About the author:

Bil
Lepp won the PEN Steven Kroll Award for his children’s book The King of
Little Things. Lepp travels the country telling hilarious tall-tales to
children and adults alike as a professional storyteller. His storytelling
audio collections have won several Parents’ Choice Gold, Silver and Approved
awards.

Lepp
is a frequent and sought after speaker at festivals and schools all around the
country and has been a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival
seventeen times. He also appears regularly on NPR’s Mountain Stage. Bil lives
with his wife and two children in South Charleston, West Virginia.

About the illustrator:

Lottie Looney is a former art teacher at Sacred Heart Grade School in Charleston,WV. Her favorite style of art is that done by the enthusiastic mind of a child. Originally from rural Pennsylvania, she grew up catching fireflies, fishing for bluegills and playing outdoors. She sees beauty and art in simplicity.

Lottie currently lives in Colorado with her husband, two spunky children and menagerie of pets.